Of Spiders, Owls, and Pachimaris
by lastwriterofdreams
Summary: Collection of one shots Post-Talon Rejects with our favorite mercenaries getting used to their new lives as...people? Not a sequel, no plot, just a collection of after stories. Reading The Talon Rejects is not required, but it is recommended for understanding the odd reference here and there. Read, find out, Review.
1. Chapter 1

_No plot, just whatever comes to mind that could be fluff in some chapters or complete smut in others, idk, just thought I should continue these characters stories in small slice of slice moments post Talon Rejects. Rating will eventually change, but for now just a bit of fluff. Maybe I'll even touch upon some of the things that I felt were a bit rushed, but for now, enjoy!_

* * *

Outside the Chateau, heavy rain was pouring from the skies along with a thunderous lightning strikes in the water. Whatever natural forces that were exposed to the outside worlds were at the complete mercy of the storm. However, within the Chateau, a family was enjoying themselves eating dinner in front of the fireplace. Their dinner consisting of a simple plate of steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, and savory steak accompanied by lemonade glasses topped with shaved ice. This dinner was only made by the adults for the adults, as the infant that sat with them was being fed by the father figure an assortment of pureed fruits. Said child was being difficult about accepting what her father was putting in front of her.

"Vamos mija, I know you like this mix." He groaned, only for her to throw her hands in the air before slamming them down on the table. The gesture received a giggle from her mother, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the baby girl. She looked at her mother and repeated her actions, inciting more of a laugh this time from her mother. "You think this is funny?" Gabriel asked with a grin of his own.

"Perhaps I do." Amelie laughed in return. "The big, strong, hardened man of the house denied by his sweet little daughter." She said, the end of her sentence becoming more childish as she reached over to pinch Victoria's little cheeks, in turn causing her to smile a toothless smile at her mom.

"Niña cachetona." Gabriel sighed in defeat as he put down the spoon and cup and went in to join his wife in praising their stubborn daughter.

A lightning bolt striking in the distance, being seen by them all through the window, the thunder immediately going off and resonating throughout the halls of the Chateau and opening the window, the fierce winds and droplets of water getting in and putting the fire out, ruining the dinner as well as getting the family wet. The sudden noise and commotion causing Victoria to become frightened and her response to it was to cry in order to get one of her parents to pick her up and comfort her.

Amelie and Gabriel quickly reacted to the situation and acted accordingly, Amelie getting up from her seat and picking up Victoria and holding her to her chest, whereas Gabriel took it upon himself to quickly go over to the window and using his smoke abilities, extended his arms to grab hold of the large windows and pulling them in for a close. Amelie quickly went up the stairs to go into their bedroom to find some towels to dry off Victoria and prevent her from catching a cold. Though she was still crying, Amelie did her best to rock her gently in her arms.

"Sh, sh, sh, plus de pleurs, ma fille." Amelie cooed as she laid Victoria down on her and Gabriel's bed, turning to their closet and grabbing a towel to dry her off, wrapping the little one in it protectively. She then realized that some of the food had landed on them. "Merde..." She cursed, knowing that Victoria wouldn't understand it and taking her clothes off and Victoria's and getting a warm bath ready for them.

Beneath, on the first floor, Gabriel managed to best nature and managed to close the window shut and secured it better than before, turning around to see the ruined dinner and going to grab a towel and trash bag to clean up the wet mess.

"Carajo." He muttered.

* * *

Several moments later, Amelie was in bed with a clean Victoria sitting on her lap, reading a story to get her to sleep through the storm. Footsteps could be heard in the hallways. Opening the door, Gabriel removed his wet shirt and walked in, wiping off the remainder of the water and mess on him with it and throwing it in his basket of dirty clothes. He then turned to Amelie and Victoria, taking on a more playful attitude as he looked at his daughter.

"And what are you doing still up, mija?" He smiled, causing Victoria to laugh up at him, and Amelie to smile at his playful attitude towards them. She absolutely adored these moments of his when he became so interactive with their daughter. Not that it was rare, only because she was ready to get used to this version of Gabriel Reyes. The loving father with a warm smile and personality as opposed to the killer that he had to become when growing up.

"I don't think she'll go to sleep without both of us reading to her." Amelie said, picking up Victoria in her hands and pressing her cheek to hers. "She was ignoring mama's storytelling until her papa arrived, wasn't she?" She cooed against an adorably struggling Victoria.

"Well then." Gabriel smirked as he put his arms out, looking at Amelie in the eyes. "I guess papa is going to have to join, isn't he?" She gasped, knowing exactly what he was going to do. Victoria, having seen this look before in her dad, was excited and in her own way urged him to do it, against her mother's wishes.

"Don't even think about it." She fake warned with a surprised smile at his audacity. He ignored her warning and jumped up onto the bed, upon landing at the food of the bed, his weight pushed both Amelie and Victoria up into the air, his entire body much heavier than both of them combined and thus sending them up almost two feet up. "Ah!" She laughed at the rush, and Victoria smiling the whole time. Upon landing back down, their impact did not move Gabriel in the slightest, Amelie reached over and smacked Gabriel on the shoulders.

"You know I hate that!" She laughed. Victoria was smiling still and crawled forward to touch her dads face.

"She seems to love it." Gabriel responded as Victoria's tiny hands were feeling his mustache and cheeks. "Isn't your daddy handsome, mija?" He joked.

"He certainly is." Amelie responded, picking their daughter up. "And he has yet to feed you." She reminded. Gabriel smiled and Reached into his pocket to show he managed to preserve the cup of baby food and a spoon.

"I haven't forgotten." He said. Victoria looked at the cup with a comedic frown. "Ey, don't give me that look, young lady." He said, sitting in front of her and prepared to feed her, with Amelie holding her in place. "Now, say 'ah'." He said, spoonful at the ready.

* * *

After feeding her, she became tired and drowsy eyed. Both her parents reading the rest of the story to her until she fell asleep and was ready to be put in her crib, alongside her pachimari stuffed toy, which she held closely to her for comfort. Gabriel covered her tiny body in her blanket and Amelie turned on her monitor. Wheeling her into the room across from theirs, they left the door open enough to hear her in case anything happened in the night. Going back in their room, they laid down next to one another and contemplated.

"It stopped raining." Amelie noticed, Gabriel looked out the window for confirmation.

"Good. She can sleep better without the thunder." He said, Amelie cuddling up to his side under his arm. "We earned this." He said.

"Yes. We did." Amelie agreed before she and Gabriel fell asleep together, both eager to see what tomorrow would bring in their new life.

* * *

 _Hope you guys enjoyed that little chapter, just a little something for now, more to come, though can't promise any consistency. See you next time!_


	2. Chapter 2

_I recommend you have translate on for this chapter, if you already speak spanish, well boy is this going to be a treat for you._

* * *

 **Hobbies**

* * *

Finding a hobby after leaving the mercenary line of work and preventing a worldwide crisis made it hard for one to figure out what to do with their spare time, especially as a parent. Whether they were changing her, reading bedtime stories, and making sure she was getting the right nutrients in her, they had not only the patience, but the luck to that Victoria would often fall asleep for long periods of time, which left both parents with said spare time on their hands.

Making love between was not boring, it never could be boring for them. But even they had to admit that they could do other things outside of it as well. What that exactly was, neither of them seemed to know. Which is why on this current afternoon, after putting her to sleep again so early in the morning, Gabriel and Amelie were sitting on one of their luxurious couches, adjacent to one another, holding pens and pads.

"We could get jobs?" Gabriel suggested.

"Non, you don't speak the local language and we don't need the money." She said nonchalantly, pointing her pen at his shoulder. He shook his head in agreement silently and crossed it off his list. "We could take classes in town? Pottery and such." She bit the butt of her pen.

"No, we don't want to leave her here alone. We might need to be here if she wakes up." He replied. "We're still parents, we can't be students part time away from home." He answered finally, Amelie agreeing with him and crossing it out of her list.

This conversation of possibilities went back and forth between them for a while, both having good reasons for not doing one thing or another as it related with not leaving the house for Victoria's sake, or because it wasn't needed at all.

"What if we do what we were used to being comfortable doing before everything?" She suggested.

"Gonna need to explain that better." Gabriel said.

"I mean." She smiled. "Things that we always loved doing in our own privacy that made us happy, or just, pushed everything that made us anxious to the back of our minds." She suggested. "I would like to dance again." She admitted with a reminiscent smile with closed eyes. Gabriel couldn't help but smile in return.

"You want to go back on the stage?" He asked.

"Non, milord." She said softly with a laugh. "Just dance my favorite dances, moving back and forth, up and down, slow and fast." She sounded nearly ecstatic at the memories of how alive she felt when she moved her body in the steps of ballet. "Have you ever had something like that?" She asked, he sighed in return with a smile.

"I did." He chuckled at the memory. "Haven't done it in so long but..." He shook his head, Amelie smiled at him and patted his shoulder with support.

"Tell me." She offered her kindest smile.

"I used to love playing guitar." He said, recalling the amount of joy he experienced from strumming the strings on his guitar. Simple, yet complex motions that activated several distinct sounds that were a drug to his hearing.

"You played guitar?" She asked with surprised excitement.

"I think I still can." He said, Amelie smiled giddily as an idea popped in her head. "I gotta hear this." He faced her fully, turning his body to hers.

"Meet me in the second floor balcony, bring your guitar." She said with excitement before getting up and picking up her sleeping Victoria, she turned to him one more time before leaving, he smiled back at her and went to get one of his guitars in one of the cases he brought when moved in and headed upstairs.

* * *

Gabriel was practicing strumming the strings, becoming with each sound and trying to remember what songs to play as he sat on the bench that leaned against he railing. He knew many back when he was young, and even in his private moments in Blacwatch or Overwatch, he'd find solace in playing his guitar. When he joined Talon, he'd never picked it up, figuring he would never play it again. And now, it was the first time in years since he's held it.

As he became reacquainted with the strings and sound, Amelie opened the balcony doors, Gabriel turned to look at her. She was smiling at him, wearing a black sundress with a hem that flowed smoothly with the breeze of the wind. Gabriel was absolutely stunned by her radiant look. She closed the doors behind her and stepped in front, in the middle of the large balcony and looked at him with an expectant look, yet shy. Gabriel smiled and looked down at his guitar, strumming all strings at once slowly before picking one of his songs, to which Amelie took the first steps forward, raising her hands in the air in a graceful stretch.

"Tengo ganas the gritar~" He sang, much to her surprise. His voice was low, but yet had a distinct accent behind it. She lost herself in his voice and moved her head to the side, as though his lips were traveling through his strings and voice to kiss her neck. "Te quiero~" He continued.

"Este amor no pude mas...callar~"

"Porque nada mas que tu~ Mi cielo, nadie mas me importara~ Jamas~"

She twirled in place, the wind carrying her body like a blade of grass on a meadow. She bent her knee as she finished her spin, falling masterfully on the floor. Her cheek touching the cold surface of stone, before she turned to look up and reached her upper body and arm out to Gabriel.

"Te quiero, si te quiero~"

"Y sobre el mundo entero~"

"Tu para mi estaras~"

Amelie was back on her feet and reached her hands up to the sky, before bringing them back down to her body and hugging herself tightly, closing her eyes. Though she could not speak his language, it was clear it was a song about expressing love through an outcry. And she imagined her own hands were his, wrapping around her small frame. Moving her head from one side to the other, her cheeks being the features of her guiding emotions, wishing not only to be embraced, but seeking solace in him.

"Que lo sepan de una vez, mi vida~"

"Porque siempre tu seras, mi amor~"

As he finished his song, Amelie ended her dance by reaching her left hand as high as she could, standing her toes, her face looking up, before slowly turning downward to look at him with her softest expression and holding her right arm out to him as she descended back down to even her footing. Her left arm lowering from reaching upwards in abandon as her right had shown her dance to have ended in choosing him over her interpretive ascension.

Gabriel put his guitar to the side and walked up to her, cupping her cheeks gently and pulling her in for a kiss, to which Amelie returned with much fervor, moving her hands up and locking them around his neck.

"This isn't a bad hobby." Gabriel chuckled against her lips. They pulled away softly, her hand remaining on his cheek.

"No. It isn't."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hobbies 2**

* * *

One of the things that Amelie still enjoyed doing in her spare time was reading her French novels. She was complete addict to literature as long as she could remember. In fact, a certain version of the classic tale of 'Cinderella' as a young child fascinated her so much that she begged her parents to take her to the ballet version when it played in their local theater. She absolutely fell in love with the art of dance because of her love of literature.

Through her life as a professional dancer, wife of Overwatch figure, Talon agent, runaway convict, and now as a retiree she still found a passion for sitting in a lounge chair, with a table beside, glass and bottle of vintage red wine, and listening to songs of Edith Piaf would be her ideal afternoons of solitude. Gabriel knew this and chose was happy enough to give her what she wanted.

When Amelie did this, he usually would play some game with Victoria or do some workouts of his own. And whenever this happened, he'd usually go for a boat ride along the lake and admire the mountains, forests and lake itself, taking in the sun, smell of the lake and wind. Usually he'd go shirtless and if he wanted to, stop at a safe and solitary place of the lake and play his guitar and sing songs he grew up with and before his time.

As good as these hobbies were to have in their separate times and selves, neither really stopped thinking about the other at all. Each having the other in mind in these activities. Amelie would imagine Gabriel whenever her novel would describe the handsome love interest of the protagonist, regardless of their description. She'd lose herself in the fantasies of the pages, imagining her love as a knight, hunter, mature lover, and beast. She hated to admit to herself that even she found herself in place of the female protagonists if it meant she could imagine themselves in her stories. She'd roll her head back in ecstasy imagining such things.

Gabriel, for his part, whenever he sang, he'd imagine playing and singing for her. Among his favorites to play was 'Amor Eterno'. Motivating himself to play better, practicing to play for her whenever he'd get back. The sunsets and sunrises reminding him of her golden sapphires. The waves of the lake reminding him of her curves as they rocked back and forth in their most intimate moments together. Every note he'd play, he'd imagine his fingers exploring her bodies, closing his eyes as he played and listened to his guitar and the waves and wind. He'd bite his lip thinking of her.

Whenever they finished these moments of solitude for themselves, one would return while the other waited. Upon arrival and securing the boat, Gabriel would enter walk up the stairs to the platform before the entrance where Amelie, with Victoria in her hands were waiting for him. They'd approach one another and embrace in a delightful kiss. An unspoken thought passing between them every-time they saw one another after these separate moments of how they longed for each other. Of course, that night they'd speak and share with one another what it was they read about, encountered and played, ensuring a constant bridge of communication between the two.

* * *

Little did they both know, that during these moments of solitude that Victoria was in fact awake. Rather than calling for her parents, as any infant would who could see no immediate sight of their them, she'd sit up and look around her room to see which toy she'd want to play with. Her most favorite being the Pachimari that Akande had given to her parents before she'd been born.

She noticed it was in a treasure chest of toys on the other side of her room. She'd stand up on her legs, using the bars of her crib as support, close her eyes and imagined herself being closer to the toy she wanted most. This in turn, would help her shadow-step through her crib and make a descending bee line to the chest and upon opening her eyes again, she'd look up and reach for one of its tentacles and pull it down to her for comfort.

She could hug the soft stuffed toy for hours and often did, falling asleep while nuzzled up to it against the chest. She always managed to wake up at the time she knew her mother would come pick her up. She would let go of the Pachimari and close her eyes again, imagining herself back at the crib and unknowingly shifting into smoke and traveling back into it before opening her eyes. Amelie would usually walk in to see Victoria sitting and smiling at the doorway.

"Mon petite angel, how long have you been up?" She cooed, and Victoria responded with baby babble. Before she'd pick her up, Amelie always noticed the Pachimari on the floor and sighed. "Unbelievable, it keeps falling out the chest." She'd say before putting it back in place, much to Victoria's slight annoyance as it meant she'd always have to reach up to grab and pull it down, but always smiling up at her mother. "C'est bien, let's go see Papa." Amelie would say, brightening up the child's smile even more.


	4. Chapter 4

_Warning, dark chapter ahead._

* * *

 **Trauma**

"Where the hell did you go?" Amelie frowned as Gabriel walked through the front door. Gabriel for his part, had a somber look in his eyes, and was was clearly not in the mood to deal with Amelie's attitude.

"I took a boat ride." He replied with a bit of edge in his voice. "I should have stayed out there a while longer." He muttered as he walked passed her. She followed close behind him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She asked with her anger growing, the fact that he was being so passive toward her attitude with his own irritated her further.

"It means that I'm glad I took a boat ride this morning if it means I had to avoid you." He said as he walked back to the open bar a few rooms over and pulled out a cognac bottle and glass. He poured himself over half the glass and downed it all at once.

"What are you doing?" Amelie's voice became deathly low. She could not believe he was drinking with his back to her, while Victoria could wake up any minute.

He remained silent. She frowned at the lack of his response and went to retrieve and red wine bottle and glass for herself. She took it over to the table in the dining room table.

"Sit. Now." She demanded. If they were going to do this, they had to do it face to face. She knew it, he knew it, it was just a matter of how willing he was. He turned to her with a sigh. Taking his poison with him, he sat across from her and began to fill his glass again as she filled hers.

* * *

It had not been a good week for them. It all started on the anniversary of Amelie's abduction, and she'd been having nightmares of the experimentation and atrocities she'd committed as the Widowmaker. She chose not to tell Gabriel and figured the nightmares would eventually stop. They didn't. The nights that would follow, the nightmares would get worse and more vivid, until she had a repeating dream of killing Gerard, but instead of him, her beloved Gabriel would be at the end of her knife. That was the worst.

Gabriel on the other hand, had been having his own problems. Unbeknownst to her, while she had her nightmares, Gabriel woke up several hours prior, went to the bathroom, washed his face and turned to face himself in the mirror. Only to be met with Reaper's distorted facade. Not the mask, but what lied underneath it for the longest time. As he looked at the mirror, it followed his movements. He rubbed his eyes and his normal reflection returned the first night, however, the following nights became worse and worse.

The following days only got worse and worse for the two of them, yet neither told the other. They both felt a tension build every day, but neither could address, they figured that if they ignored these traumas, their paradise would remain what it was. A paradise. But it only became worst. Prior to the worst of it, Gabriel was dressing while Amelie was holding Victoria in her arms, but as he looked into the mirror, he saw Reaper put his hands on Amelie's shoulder. He turned around as though something would happen to them, but as he turned, Amelie did as well when she heard him gasp. He looked pale to her, with sweat developing at his temples.

"Gabriel...what's wrong?" She asked, worried for him.

"I..." He breathed in deeply before going downstairs.

Amelie was beginning to worry for him as well. Her nightmares became more and more traumatizing involving the murder of Gabriel. She knew in her heart of hearts that all of Talon's programming was gone. But could it be possible that a relapse of her programming was taking place. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't recall if the order was specifically Gerard, or just her _husband_. The thought scared her more and more. She tried recalling if she had these nightmares prior to what she did to Gerard, but nothing came up. They continued to ignore the problems, only with less resolve than before. Amelie thought about that perhaps they should seek help of some sort.

That night was when their facade's crumbled. Gabriel was unable to sleep, he had avoided every mirror he could that day, but even in the reflection of glass objects and silverware, he'd see Reaper threatening to touch that which mattered to him most. He figured that turning to Amelie would help out. She was fast asleep, with her back to him. He figured he'd surprise her with kisses to the back of her neck, wrapping his large arms around her and pulling in closer. Little did he know, her current nightmare was of her knowing she'd kill Gerard who had been hugging her from her behind. Not wanting to hurt him in her dream, she yelled out something that shattered Gabriel.

"Gerard, stop..!" She said forcefully in her mid-sleep. Gabriel reeled away from her as though she were made of flames. She could feel the bed shift behind her, causing her to turn to him. She was focusing on Gabriel, who was looking at her with a deep frown. It took a while for her to comprehend what had just transpired. "Gabriel...wait, I-" Before she could finish her sentence, he'd shadowstepped out of the room and made his way out of the house and onto the boat. "Merde!" She cursed and quickly rushed out of her room to catch up to him. She stepped out into the cold night air and ran to where they tied their boat, only to see him already gone in the distance. She'd call out to him, but he chose to ignore her. She began to cry and figured he'd come back later in the day, it was still dark out, but not for one second did she believe he would drown or lose control of the rowing.

She wiped her tears as they kept falling as she ran back inside and into Victoria's room to check on her, making sure she was alright. Thankfully she was. At least someone in the house was thankfully unaffected by such things.


	5. Chapter 5

**Visions and Nightmares**

Gabriel was lost in thought as he continued to row the bloat blindly into the middle of the lake. He couldn't believe what Amelie had just said, nor could he fathom what how to have responded.

"Could she miss him?" He asked himself. "No...she said no after his name." He reasoned with himself.

"But she was still thinking about him instead of you." A gravelly, echo came around him. Gabriel looked around, fearing that _he_ was here. "Down here..." Reaper said, Gabriel looked down at the water, and as the first rays of sunlight hit the lake, he could see where his reflection should have been, was Reaper looking back up at him.

"You're not real..." Gabriel failed to convince himself as he sat down in the boat to ignore the reflection.

"I was...I am...You are..." Reaper spoke to him.

"Why..?" Gabriel asked.

"You didn't think you could forget about yourself did you?" Reaper taunted.

"I can...and I have." Gabriel said, not convincingly.

"If that were true, I wouldn't be here would I? Nor would I have saved Victoria." Reaper said. At that, Gabriel yelled as he pulled out a Hellfire from seemingly out of nowhere and shot at his reflection of Reaper in the water.

"Don't you dare say her name! And don't you ever approach her again!" He threatened.

"I approach her everyday." It said, and then pointed to his chest. "We approach her everyday." Reaper said. Gabriel frowned deeper and threw the entire Hellfire into the reflection, causing it to ripple throughout its surrounding. "There is not a second that goes by in your lives where I am not there. After all, it was me that saved her and Amelie from that thing." Reaper said.

"You were gone by the time Victoria was born." Gabriel said as he kept his head in his hands. "I kept them safe..." Gabriel said.

"You took the initiative. You used MY powers. Without me, you would have failed a long time ago." Reaper said. Gabriel sighed as he looked down.

"Why are you appearing all of a sudden." He asked reasonably. "What do you want?" He asked, tapping to his Blackwatch Commander tone. He knew that as a normal man he stood no chance discussing with the Reaper, so perhaps as the hardened commander he could discuss with his deathly persona he wished to no longer have anything to do with.

"You need me, Reyes." Reaper said. "You keep trying to forget me, but it is because of me you got this far. I want to get out." He growled back at Gabriel.

"You're not needed anymore." Gabriel said. "It's because of our actions the world was so divided." He sighed.

"You will. The world is never safe, we of all people know about that." Reaper said back.

"Your revenge drove us to make it worse." Gabriel said. "We're living in peace, there is no need for you anymore." Gabriel's features sharpened as he looked down at Reaper. "Leave." Gabriel demanded. Reaper looked back up at him.

"You'll regret this! You need me!" Reaper yelled back at him in the water. "Let me out! We have unfinished business!" Gabriel sighs and ignored his reflection as he looked back at the Chateau and began to row back. "We're not finished Gabriel!" Reaper yelled. Gabriel sighed and continued to row.

"We are for now." He said finally as Reaper's voice faded. As he blinked and look back at his reflection and found that it was his. Reaper was gone, for now. Now he was dreading going back home with Amelie.

* * *

Amelie was sitting on the couch, hugging her knees as she looked at the door. She tried her best to remain awake while she waited for Gabriel to return. She feared that if she went back to sleep, the visions of killing either Gerard, Gabriel, or Victoria would take place. She struggled to remain awake as she waited. Her eyes wanted to remain closed with every blink she made involuntarily. She tried to focus on something to keep her awake, and her eyes landed on her forearm.

 _Araignée du soir, Cauchemar_

She frowned and scratched at the tattoo. As she scratched at it, she found herself becoming more and more awake the harder she scratched at it. She soon found herself scratching painfully away at it, back and forth. Her eyes narrowing at the ink, causing her pale-moon skin to become pink, then red, until it the first layer was on the verge of bleeding.

"I hate you..." She said as she clawed away at the quote on her arm, hoping her nails would serve as the eraser, only until her head tilted a bit and she snapped from her outrage. Looking around her, nothing had changed, until she looked at how badly her forearm looked. She wanted to cry at the situation, but chose to be strong for her sake. She began to rub where she had previously damaged her skin. Amelie stood up to look for something to wrap up her forearm.

"I'm losing my mind." She sighed. Her nightmares have already done the damage to her relationship with Gabriel, and she was damned if she would allow it to get worse. She knew she had to tell him all about it, and maybe perhaps, he would tell her what was the matter to him. She had noticed something was eating away at him this past week, perhaps her episodes were rubbing off on him. She feared that maybe he sensed what she was dreaming and was keeping his distance.

"But that wouldn't explain why I felt his touch in my dream..." She reminded herself. She figured he likely wanted to surprise her in the morning, but her saying Gerard's name was the worst timing of all. Even she had to admit, they were both in need of a release by physical contact, but knew that it wouldn't happen anytime soon with how they have been doing. Bringing up Gerard's name in their marital bed opened a large can of new problems that they would have to deal with later. She hadn't known Gabriel to be territorial, but then again, she's never seen him with another woman, nor has he had to compete with another man for her.

Just before she could finish her thoughts on the matter, Gabriel had stormed into the house, and then she realized that she had remained standing since she had gotten up. After their altercation, she switched their emotions to drink and began to talk about their problems.

* * *

"So you've been getting nightmares..." Gabriel asked, Amelie nodded.

"And you've been seeing Reaper all week?" She asked and he nodded in return. They remained silent for a while and contemplated what they were going to do. "I think we need time alone-" She began.

"No..!" He stood up from his seat in protest.

"Together." She gave a soft chuckle at his reaction, causing him to pinch the bridge of his nose and let out a chuckle in return as he sat back down, she reached her hand out and held his.

"I'm sorry." He said in embarrassment.

"Don't be, I wouldn't want to face this alone either." She explained. "But we can't be around Victoria while we're like this." She reasoned. Gabriel sighed.

"You're right..." He looked up the stairs where Victoria was likely still sleeping. "We need someone to look after her." He said.

"Do you still have their number?" She asked as he pulled out his phone.

"I do." He said as he dialed the contact 'Tías'.


	6. Chapter 6

**Questions and Crises**

On the beaches of Spain, two women were sipping on blue lagoons and enjoying themselves and the nice weather. One was underneath a parasol while the other was openly enjoying the rays of the sun. Occasionally, they would get hit on by athletic men with clear intentions, which they both rejected on every account without concern.

"It's one thing to be hit on by such pathetic men, but to have them do it in a language you can't speak is another." Moira complained as she sipped from her blue lagoon.

"That's why I told you we should come to Spain instead of Portugal, amiga." Sombra smirked. "The people here may have a different accent, but I still speak the language." She said as another one came up to them. "Ni lo pienses, guerito." She threatened, causing him to scoff at her before moving away from her.

"When we visit Ireland next, I'll be sure to return the favor." Moira chuckled as they both laughed at the joke. At that moment, however, Sombra's phone started to ring. "Gabriel?" She asked.

"That's what the phone's for." Sombra replied as she opened it. Moira finished the last of her drink, anticipating having to leave soon. This was the first time Gabriel or Amelie had called them since their departure. Whatever it was, it was either and invitation or an emergency. Or both. Either way, they'd have to visit.

"Of course, we can be there by tomorrow." She said into the phone, her care-free attitude changing to a concerned look as she hung up.

"What happened?" Moira asked.

"He couldn't say much, just that they need our help. Me to look after 'V', and you with them." Sombra explained.

"I see. Well, we best hurry then." Moira said as she began to collect her belongings.

"Yes, let's." Sombra said as she began to do the same.

* * *

The two arrived later that night. After the 'I missed you's' and other pleasantries, knowing how long their trip was, Gabriel and Amelie let them rest for the remainder of the night and in the morning made them a traditional breakfast. Eggs, bacon and coffee. As Moira stirred her cream and sugar in hers, she got a good look at how terrible the couple looked. The bags under their eyes signaled to how sleep deprived they were. Little gestures like scratching themselves meant that they were highly anxious. As well as how harshly they treated inanimate objects, from Gabriel closing the refrigerator's door harder than necessary and Amelie practically slamming the pan over the stove were clear signs that they have been stressed out for quite sometime. Sombra was not exactly the morning type and even with the coffee was not fully awake as she was to notice these subtleties. Soon, both Amelie and Gabriel sat down across from them, with Victoria in her mother's arms.

"I see you two have had better days." Moira initiated, figuring they needed her for medical assistance.

"We have." Gabriel said as he wiped the natural oil from his face. "These aren't those days." He said.

"We figured the best course of action was looking to you two for help." Amelie followed.

"What's that?" Sombra said as she took a sip of her coffee tiredly.

"Well..." Gabriel said with a momentary pause.

"We were hoping you could take Victoria with you for a couple of days, while Moira helped us out with our problems." Amelie explained, at the mention of her and Victoria, Sombra's eyes shot wide open in so much excitement that she almost didn't hear what Amelie said after.

"Of course I'll look after her. I'll be happy to, amiga." She said as she got up. "I can take her now if you want." Sombra's eyes widened with excitement. Gabriel and Amelie looked back and forth between them before looking down at Victoria and then nodding.

"Alright, keep out of trouble and be back before it gets dark." Amelie ordered as she handed Victoria over to her Godmother.

"Don't worry about it, we'll be fine." She said, taking the little one in her arms. "Won't we?" She cooed, much to the baby's delight and walking into another room to leave the three of them to discuss.

"So what kind of help can I be of?" Moira asked.

"We were hoping for some...counseling." Amelie said, shocking Moira into almost dropping her coffee. She managed to compose herself, and noticed that Gabe looked away as Amelie said it.

"That bad?" Moira asked. "Look, I don't know if I'm the right person for this. I'm not that kind of doctor-" She began, when Gabriel turned to her.

"Please, Moira, we need this." He said. "It's not like we're heading for a divorce, just someone to help us out. We want to catch these things before it grows anymore than it already has." He explained.

"Think of it as an operation of removing something before it spreads." Amelie added, Moira sipped from her coffee, pondering.

"In my personal experience, it is better to get rid of the patient entirely and experiment on the next one." She said, much to both their undermined horror. They've come to expect the worst of her past, yet still trusted her. "Though for your relationship, I will take on a more...merciful and understanding method. Psychologically of course." She corrected herself.

"Alright guys, have fun, we'll be back soon!" Sombra said as she carried Victoria in her rebozo along with a purse containing everything she needed for her and teletransported out of the mansion. Both Amelie and Gabriel stood up in worry.

"We didn't say she could use that. Did we?" Amelie asked Gabriel.

"Definitely not!" He said, his anger rising easily.

"Relax both of you, she made sure to set the locator somewhere safe in town." Moira said, finishing the last of her coffee. "But this reaction is good, you both have a common interest in your daughter's safety. This'll help for any upcoming questions." She finished.

"That's not the point, the point is that we don't want Victoria ever using those things!" Gabriel said.

"Of course! At least not until she's old enough!" Amelie revealed, causing Gabriel to turn to her.

"What are you talking about? We're not going to ever let her use such a thing, what would she even use it for?!" He started to get mad, thinking of only dangerous situations in which Victoria would have to use such a device, which he absolutely refused to ever let happen in the first place. Especially since he's been seeing his alter ego personified lately.

"In case she wants to get to school quickly or she needs to get out quickly!" Amelie yelled back, retaliating at his raised voice. Her concern came more from escaping her mother should any hidden program still exist that would force her to hurt someone she loved.

"This is going to take a while." Moira sighed.

* * *

Several moments later, the trio found themselves in the basement, the entire setting resembling that of a therapeutic environment, with the couple facing Moira. One thing that was very unconventional, was that she encouraged them both to bring alcohol with them both. She figured that if they both loosened up after a few drinks, they'd be more open and honest and the obstacle of holding back would be taken out. Of course, she'd be the one serving them both to make sure it didn't get out of hand.

"So, we will begin with Amelie first. What started all of this in your opinion?" She asked. Amelie took a sip from her glass.

"At first, it started with the anniversary of my kidnapping..." She started. "At first, I thought they were just nightmares, but then they began more vivid. Realer the following nights." She took a deep breath. "And then...I started to remember killing Gerard." She said, avoiding eye contact. "By then, I thought they were still just nightmares. I kept denying to myself that they could mean anything. But then..." She could feel the corners of her eyes begin to moisten up. "I dreamt that I hurt both of them." She turned to Gabriel with an apologetic look. He went to hold her hand in support.

"I see." Moira said, as she wrote it down. "That must have been terrible to witness, even if it weren't real." Moira sympathized.

"It was. I just...I can't bring myself to say that I can't imagine hurting them, because I have and it felt real. I hate it. And a big fear of mine is that...maybe the programming isn't entirely gone...or maybe I am getting mixed signals now that I am with Gabriel now." Amelie admitted.

"Interesting. You believe that perhaps what Talon did to you was so effective that it is possible for to repeat itself if you found yourself in a similar situation as when you were returned?" Moira bluntly said. Amelie finally let go and allowed the tears to flow as she let them fall and pulled her hand to her body. "I could run some medical tests and separate sessions with you to see if this is a real possibility. I am positive that if there is something there that needs to be cleansed." Moira wrote it down. "Hopefully, and I do mean this, as your friend, I truly hope that this is simply ptsd activated by memory and I can certainly guide you easier through that." She said, Amelie nodded and wiped her tears away. Moira turned to Gabriel, who was looking at Amelie with a look of sorrow in his eyes.

"What about you, Gabriel? What has been bothering you?" She said. He sighed in return and pulled out his mask and place it on the table between them. Moira stopped writing as she looked at the all to familiar false facade of her compatriot.

"He won't stop appearing in my head." He revealed to her. Moira looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? You've been hearing your own thoughts in his perspective?" She asked for clarification.

"No, he's been appearing physically to me. Amelie can't see him, he can't do anything around us, but he sure as hell feels and looks like he's there to me." Gabriel said, almost growling in disgust of himself.

"Does he speak to you Gabriel?" She asked.

"Yes, and boy does he talk." Gabriel scoffed. "He just appears like an uninvited imaginary friend." He put his face in his hands.

"What does he say to you?" She continued writing.

"He keeps telling me he wants to get out, as if I'm keeping him in some cage." Gabriel said, his head still in his hands. "It's like...I can't even explain it, but he's speaks to me as if he were my split personality. Hell the other day, I was in the lake and where my reflection was supposed to be, _he_ was there." Gabriel said desperately. Amelie noticed this and caressed his back.

"Gabriel." Moira said to him. "Is he here now?" She asked, completely focused on him.

"Of course not," He said as he pulled his head up. "Why would he-" He stopped mid-sentence as he spotted the familiar, dark silhouette of the Reaper in the corner of the room. Since Gabriel had put the mask on the table, the Reaper had nothing covering his twisted and deformed face.

"Gabriel?" Amelie asked in concern. Gabriel's eyes were completely focused on his alternate self, just standing in the corner behind Moira. Both women turned in the direction where he was staring.

"He's there, isn't he?" Moira asked.

"Yes." Gabriel frowned.

"Is he able to affect anything around him?" Moira asked in concern.

"No. He's just a ghost." Gabriel insulted Reaper, even though Moira and Amelie weren't able to see him. "He can't harm anything physically." Gabriel said.

"You know you're sounding crazy to them don't you?" Reaper said, Gabriel frowned and turned back to Moira. "Ignore me all you like. You can't get rid of me." He said.

"Is he saying anything in particular to you now?" Moira asked with caution, never having dealt with this before, she knew she had to tread carefully. Gabriel's eyes sharpened at Reaper then turned to Moira.

"No." He said flatly.

"Gabriel, I need you to be honest, because this adds a new level of endangerment to all three of us." Moira said. "Don't be spiteful because of him." She urged gently.

"Funny how you did exactly the opposite with Antonio and that spiraled into this now." Reaper said, Gabriel sighed.

"He says that what you said is funny because of what I did that night in Italy when were in Blackwatch." Gabriel said. Moira nodded as she wrote it down.

"I can understand why he'd say that." She smirked, much to Gabriel and Reaper's surprise. "I was there, hell, I assisted you, so I can find the truth in that statement, but because I know you now, I can tell you that you've no longer got that covert ops mentality." Still shocked by the truth in her statement, Gabriel found it difficult to conjure words to say.

"And you think that you're a saint to tell him he's in the clear?!" Reaper yelled at Moira, much to Gabriels anger and turning to him. Moira figured that this separate entity would become enraged at her and tried to handle this the best way she could, supportive and reassuring words towards Gabriel to remind him that he was not Reaper. Not anymore anyways, and just as if he were there, she'd ignore the Reaper as if he were there in order to spite him and keep Gabriel calm through compliments.

"Gabriel, you're finding yourself in a literal paradise you've never thought you'd find yourself in. What you have is your dark subconscious sending you signals that your life is perfect. Unnaturally perfect to what its used to. Your history defines a huge portion of the darkest things you think of yourself. With an upbringing like yours of violence, corruption, death, betrayal, and war it is only natural that some _small_ part of you is fighting with this unfamiliarity. I mean." She put her notes down for a second. "Four years ago, did you ever imagine yourself that you'd be living in a Chateau in France, living with a wife and a daughter, having personally helped in preventing a world war and enjoying a life without the worry of any of the previous things I said?" Moira said, inspiring both Gabriel and Amelie.

"I...I..." Gabriel was unable to respond to Moira.

"I'll be back with you momentarily, right now, I think it is good that I talk with Amelie." Moira said, Gabriel nodded.

"Bitch! We're not done here! You tell her that she has a lot of shit to answer to!" Reaper yelled to Gabriel, who was feeling too relieved that he ignored Reaper, though he wouldn't go away.

"Amelie." Moira started. "Your fear, is very understandable and I can't imagine what you must be going through. I have no doubts that you would ever bring yourself to harm either Gabriel or Victoria willingly. But I must ask, have you ever acted on this nightmares?" She asked, picking up her pen and pad.

"God no!" Amelie said defensively. "I mean...of course I'd never do such a thing. But...my nightmares just felt so...real that I have wondered at the moment they happened if they did happen." Amelie explained.

"What has been the worst of it?" Moira asked, causing both Amelie, Gabriel, and Reaper to stop, with the last two looking at Amelie, knowing full well what it was going to be.

"Well...initially I thought the worst of it was when I saw myself hurt my Victoria and Gabriel. But...even then, I kept it to myself when I snapped out of it...the worst so far was...when I had the reoccurring memory of the moments before killing Gerard..." Amelie stopped to collect herself. At that moment, Reaper looked at all of them and shadow-stepped behind Moira. Gabriel looked at him as he did so, but not visibly enough for the other two to notice.

"Go on." Moira said in support.

"Well...The memory involved being with Gerard...and we were together and I could feel him coming onto me. It felt real, very real because I didn't know that Gabriel was trying to wake me up to do the same." Amelie left it at that, Moira nodded understandably. "And...when I could feel myself nearing hurting Gerard...and feeling Gabriel touch me I felt very defensive for Gerard that I...called out his name..." Amelie looked down in shame.

"It's ok, Amelie." Moira said reassuringly.

"The fuck it's not!" Reaper yelled, only heard by Gabriel. "You think I want to hear her ex-husband's name while I wanted to make us both feel better?!" He yelled. As much as Gabriel wanted to shout at Reaper, he couldn't for two main reasons. One, he didn't want to engage him because Amelie was speaking, but also because he found himself in agreement with what Reaper said. He had to admit that he was extremely angered by another name coming out of Amelie's lips that weren't his when he caressed her.

 _Shut up!_ Gabriel mentally shouted at Reaper, who knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Don't tell me that this doesn't anger you." Reaper said, slamming down on all of Gabriel's buttons. "Ask her what she thinks she was saying!"

 _Fuck off! She was dealing with her own problems._ Gabriel reasoned.

"When I said that, and suddenly felt Gabriel's warmth leave the bed, I woke up a bit, and was disoriented at first, then I realized what I had done..!" Amelie began to cry again.

"Why the fuck is she even thinking of Gerard still when she's clearly with us?!" Reaper yelled back at Gabriel.

 _She was having nightmares and visions, it was just wrong timing. And she's with me, not you. Drop it._

"I just think that it doesn't seem right that she can get away with this so easily." Reaper frowned.

 _What the fuck are you saying?_ Gabriel glared daggers at Reaper.

"I'm saying that you have a right to be angry with her and regardless of how she's feeling, if she really loves us enough, she shouldn't be feeling or even remembering anything about Gerard." Reaper paused momentarily as he looked directly into Gabriel's eyes.

" **You think she's better off if she hadn't killed him?** " Reaper replied. Gabriel looked back into the eyes of his disfigured former self. He had nothing to say to that. Whether it was stupid reasoning, or if he believed it himself deep down.

Sensing this moment of weakness, Reaper further pressed against Gabriel and looked over Moira's shoulder and at her notes.

"Interesting." Reaper said just as Moira wrote something down. As much as he knew what a mistake he was making, Gabriel did it anyway and asked.

 _What?_

"You're certainly going to hate this." Reaper said, stealing Gabriel's complete attention from the conversation Amelie and Moira were having. "She notes, that you are likely to have an inferiority complex after hearing his name. You'll find yourself feeling inadequate and questioning your manhood from this event." Reaper specifically worded it this way to sound like Moira. Gabriel on the other hand, wasn't thinking clearly. He believed what Reaper was telling him. He was already questioning himself afterwards. "You need me to tear into this conversation and let them know how we feel about this." Reaper said calmly as he appeared in front of Gabriel and held out his hand to him.

"Gabriel." Moira said loudly, trying to get his attention. Gabriel quickly snapped to look at Amelie and Moira, Reaper having dissipated.

"What?" He asked, trying to collect himself.

"I asked how that made you feel." Moira repeated. Gabriel looked between Moira and Amelie, and then down at the mask he placed on the table at the beginning.

"I..." He looked back up at them both.

"Gabriel?" Amelie asked with hopeful eyes.

"Did he speak while we were talking?" Moira asked in reference to Reaper.

"I think I have a right to be mad." He said spoke his affected mind.

"Of course, mon amour." Amelie said in agreement. "I'm so sorry, you know I didn't mean to." She said. Gabriel sighed in disappointment for what he was going to reveal next.

"I know but..." He sighed in frustration this time.

"What did Reaper tell you just now?" Moira asked.

"You want to know?" Gabriel said. "He walked over behind you and told me a bunch of crap about what I fear you put on how I felt about Amelie saying Gerard's name in her sleep. He told me how you wrote down that I felt low and inadequate and shit." Gabriel took a deep breath.

"Gabriel I wrote no such thing down." She said in her defense and showed him her notes about the last bit of conversations.

"I know you didn't write that, of course I do. But he did say something that stuck with me just now." Gabriel held his hands together in a fist.

"What did he say?" Amelie asked with worry.

"He asked me if you'd be happier now if you hadn't killed Gerard." He revealed much to both their shock. "And to be honest, it scares me. Would you be happier if Gerard managed to defend himself and find out how to help you? Would you have worked it out with him? Would you have forgotten me? Or worse, what if you said no? I have to ask if you had to be kidnapped, tortured, and experimented and become a killer against your will in order for us to be together ? To have this paradise that we have now? What does that say about us? What does it say about me for wanting that to be the answer the most?" He lowered his head in shame and standing up. "I'm going to cut this session for myself right now. I honestly don't feel like doing anything else right now." He said as he walked out of the room and up the stairs.

"Gabriel wai-" Moira was too slow to react to his departure from the session and Amelie was too shocked and numb to the entire argument that Gabriel had presented before them.

What would she say?

What _could_ she say?


	7. Chapter 7

Amelie was crying openly in front of Moira who was rubbing her shoulder.

"How could he say that?!" She wept on the red-head's shoulder.

"You know he couldn't have meant that." Moira assured.

"Then what could he have meant?!" Amelie wailed as she raised her head up before leaning her head against her friends shoulder.

"It was likely something Reaper told him while I was talking with you."

"I don't want Gerard...I want Gabriel..." Amelie sobbed against her friend.

"I know you do, but he's got it in his head to question that as well." Moira said.

"What do I do?" Amelie asked desperately.

"You must reassure him." Moira answered. "Tell him why he's wrong in doubting you. You can't possibly think that he has a point." She urged.

"But what about what he said about us being together because of Talon-or killing Gerard?" Amelie asked again.

"I don't have the answer for that, my friend. Only you do." Moira lifted Amelie up on her feet and lead her to the door.

Amelie wiped her tears away, looking back at Moira who nodded for her to move forward. Moira looked down at the table, where Gabriel had left his mask. Reaching over to it, she held onto it.

* * *

As Amelie walked up the stairs of the basement, her thoughts were running rampant. She knew she loved Gabriel, she could never doubt herself of that. But what she was doubting was the events that had to happen in order for them to be together. The murder of her previous husband, Gerard, by her hand, having to be kidnapped to be a part of the terrorist that he'd later come to find, killing countless numbers of people in their wake, just to find themselves together.

"No...there must be more to us than...that." She let her thoughts out.

Then there is Gerard's ghost in the midst of all this. Of course she regrets killing him, it was never her intention to do so. But...if she hadn't...would she still be with him. Would her and Gabriel never have had the life they had now? Did she still love him..?

"No." She confirmed to herself. As much as she regretted doing what she did to him, she could not see a future with him if he had survived. "It was a failing marriage near the end." She took a deep breath, making it to the first floor and walking towards the stairs to make her way to the second, walking faster in her rising confidence.

Victoria was living proof that there was life in their love. Gabriel was entirely supportive throughout her endeavors and she towards his. This moment in tested their mentality and emotions of fear. It was perfectly natural to have these thoughts, but they needed to be addressed in order to fix them. In a way, thinking about it made her realized that she preferred Gabriel asked the worst question to their relationship when he did, as opposed to keeping it inside him. Having been brought up by the worst in him, she knew what his biggest fear was, regarding their relationship and future.

She climbed up the stairs to their bedroom and found him sitting at the edge of their bed. He turned to face her. He looked sorrowful, yet, there was something about him that brightened as he saw her enter. He turned away, unable to say anything. Amelie squeezed the hem of the collar of her sweater.

"I won't lie to you." She began, getting his attention again. "I regret having killed Gerard, with every fiber of my being." She admitted to him. For a second, Gabriel's frame drooped significantly. Thinking to himself that she might have decided that their relationship was a mistake that shouldn't have happened given the circumstances. "He was an innocent man for me to have taken his life. But..." Amelie took a deep breath. "I don't regret having met you. Whatever our relationship is built on, I've come to accept. We changed for the worst when we separated and reunited under different names." She continued. "But it's not who we are anymore. If I had to do it again in order to be with you." She pointed to him. "I'd do it a million times again because what we have is worth it." She said. "And even if we lived here, or in that house after we escaped, or worse or better...I can't imagine it with anyone else." She finished.

Gabriel had stood up halfway through her speech and clung to every word she said. He half expected her to verbally attack him, or worse, come to agreements with his doubts and decide to leave him. But he also hoped for her to say what he wanted to hear. That she was there with him and he with her. She looked at him with innocent and vulnerable eyes as she waited for his reaction. At this moment, her words soothed his thoughts. And though one conversation was not going to fix what was wrong in his doubtful mind, the fact that she said what she did inspired him. He teared up as he closed the distance between them and brought her in for a strong embrace.

Amelie, for her part, was relieved to feel his warmth once again. It had not been an easy weak for either of them, but this was amazing. She wrapped her arms around him and brought them up along his back. Arching her back as he bend forward down to her.

They could work this out, she knew they could. They knew it would be difficult, but they knew they could overcome it.


	8. Chapter 8

Sombra walked through the inner streets of the town, seeing where she could spend time with her little 'niece'. Since leaving the chateau, Sombra fed Victoria with bottles of milk that her parents had, sang to her under the shadow of a tree, jiggled around a few light constructions in front of her to keep her distracted.

"Que piensas, chula?" She asked the little tot. "Think we should ruin the silence in a library?" Sombra asked jokingly, receiving a giggle from the little girl. "You're right, that'd be too predictable." She sighed.

She continued to think of places where she could take her to relax. She wasn't old enough to socialize with other kids, but perhaps some one on one time on the swing set, with Sombra pushing gently of course.

"Perfecto." Sombra smirked as she walked to the park, put her bag down and carefully took Victoria out of the rebozo and placed her tiny body in the holes of the swing seat. Sombra began to gently push the little one bit by bit, letting her get used to the speed of the swing. Making sure not to go overboard, Sombra would slow down a little bit every now and then and then pick up the pace again. Rinse and repeat. As much as Victoria was enjoying being pushed back and forth against the wind, her attention was suddenly caught by the rest of the playground, her tiny eyes looking at the monkey bars with awe.

After a couple of minutes, Sombra yawned slightly, and when she opened her eyes, to her horror, Victoria was no longer on the swing.

"Nononono..." Sombra began to panic as she looked around the swingset, underneath it, behind her, and above her. "Que chingados!" She cursed at herself, how could she lose the most precious child in the world after one little yawn. As she continued to panic, she could hear the sweet little giggles of said baby and quickly whipped her head toward the sound. "Mija!" She yelled and without thinking, rushed towards the monkey bars, where Victoria was happily crawling over the bars without fear.

"Get down from there!" She half-scolded, only to be ignored by the child. Fortunately, the bars weren't so high that Sombra couldn't reach. Unfortunately, however, when Sombra reached her hand to grab Victoria from the side, the little girl instinctively swatted her hand away. Sombra gasped. "Quien te crio?!" She silently raged. The contact didn't hurt her, but it did shock her that for a baby, she was as strong as she was, much more impressively with the reflexes she had.

Sombra noticed that Victoria was heading over to the end of the monkey bars that was connected to a portion of the playground that lead to the top of the slide, she quickly made her way over to the end to cut her off. Reaching the end, Sombra turned around to where she hoped Victoria was still crawling off the monkey bars to her end. But to her continuing shock, Victoria was gone again.

"What the hell? How is she doing that?!" She frustrated, looking around her. She heard the sound of hands slapping down on a wooden surface behind her. Sombra turned around and saw that Victoria was climb-crawling up a short vertical slope with toy handles that lead to slide. Sombra, panicking climbed up the little section and tried to reach the little girl before she slid down. Giggling as she reached the end of the slide, Victoria smiled as she contemplated the ride down. Just as Sombra rushed forward to reach her, Victoria sneezed and turned into a tiny cloud of grey smoke, Sombra phasing through the toddler and going down the slide face first.

"Pfft!" Sombra wiped the edges of her mouth from any wooden chips that might have stuck on her harsh landing. "Since when could she do tha-oof!" Sombra coughed as Victoria went down the slide and landed safely on Sombra's back, clapping her hands together in excitement. "Ay..." Sombra sighed, rolling over slightly and picking up Victoria in her arms. "You are a handful. You know that?" Sombra frowned, making sure she held onto Victoria securely. Victoria laughed up at her aunt before yawning and holding onto Sombra closely for warmth and comfort.

"Oh no, nena." Sombra sighed. "You don't get off that easily." She walked back towards the swing-set to where she left their bag and rebozo. "Oh, who am I kidding, you're too cute for me to be mad at." She smiled down at the sleeping baby.

"You just need to learn and behave yourself a little more, peque." She kissed the top of the little one's head and wrapped the rebozo back around themselves and began to head back to the Chateau.

* * *

 _Que piensas - Whaddya think?_

 _Chula - Cute one (female pronoun)_

 _Perfecto - Perfect_

 _Que Chingados - WTF_

 _Mija - My daughter/little one (shortened)_

 _Quien te crio - Who raised you_

 _nena - little girl_

 _peque - little one (shortened)_


	9. Chapter 9

Amelie and Gabriel collapsed gently on the bed. Emotionally and mentally exhausted from their arguments, sleep depravity, and cathartic conversations. Moira certainly did a good job at peeling away at their insecurities and exposing their flawed worries. Not without confirming that said worries were justified, but both certainly appreciated her more for it.

Both fell asleep in one another's arms, too tired to speak or move any longer. Amelie got comfortable and turned her back to Gabriel and brought his arms to the front of her to hold onto. Gabriel smiled softly behind her, taking in the scent of her hair and she the warmth of his large arms. The two slept soundly as a floor below them was Moira taking a sip of her tea, reading anything she could on her phone. Sombra opening the door of the Chateau and rushing to find the couple.

"Slow down there." Moira said, not moving from her spot, Sombra stopping in her tracks. "They're in the healing process." Sombra looked at Moira, then at the stairs, then back to Moira.

"Are they..?" Sombra squinted her eyes in mock disgust.

"They're a couple, and have a child, yes. They're sleeping in the same bed." Moira chuckled. Sombra sighed.

"I don't have time for jokes, this involves Victoria." Sombra said, trying to take the girl out of the rebozo, only to find it empty. Moira noticed this and got up from her seat.

"Where is she?" Moira asked in concern, almost spilling her tea.

"That's the thing, she could be anywhere." Sombra exasperated.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Moira began to raise her voice in anger towards Sombra.

"It means she inherited her dads teleportation!" Sombra let out, looking up the stairs, hoping that they didn't hear her. Moira looked at Sombra in surprise.

"That's...interesting." Moira raised her fingers to her chin, tapping along her jawline. "You brought her back with you?" She asked.

"Yes, I made sure of it." Sombra sighed. "She was with me when I walked in." She rubbed her temples. Suddenly, they heard Moira's tea spill on the floor. Turning around, both of them saw that Victoria was playing on the sofa and seemed to have pushed the cup to the floor.

"Don't scare her...we need to keep control of the situation..." Moira said, holding her hand behind her to gesture Sombra to remain still. "Hi...little one. Aunt Moira hasn't held you in a while." Moira attempted to say soothingly, only coming across as creepily. Victoria took notice of this and inched away from her. "No, no. I'm over here." Moira said as she began to approach Victoria, only for the girl to swat her hand away and shadow step away from the room. "Did she just..?" Moira looked at her hand." Sombra began to run after the smoke.

"Join the club." Sombra called out from behind her, Moira quickly followed suit and now Victoria was on the kitchen table, playing with a plastic cup. "Nena, slow down, I just need you to come with me." Sombra said, inching closer and closer to the little one. Moira just behind her. Victoria looked at them both with a smile and threw the cup to the floor. Causing both women to cringe at the sound.

"At least its plastic." Moira quipped. To that, Victoria pushed away at a china plate. "No!" She gasped and held her breath, not wanting to wake up her parents.

"Vicky, don't do it." Sombra bit her lower lip, while warning the little girl. She ignored their pleas and pushed the plate away at the edge of the table, shattering as it landed on the floor. Both women frowned at the girl.

"Think we should drop the good aunties act?" Moira said as she summoned her yellow orbs, while Sombra's hands began to glow a digital purple.

"As long as they don't find out and she knows we love her when we catch her I'm good." Victoria looked at them both with a frown of her own as both women jumped towards her, and Victoria emitting dark smoke from her body.

In their bedroom, both Amelie and Gabriel were sleeping soundly, regardless of all the noise being made downstairs. This included plates shattering, table legs screeching, chairs falling and such. It wasn't until Sombra thought ahead of Victoria and appeared in front of her to catch her as Moira fell face first onto a cabinet.

"Gotcha, you little-!" Sombra never finished her sentence as Victoria began to cry in her arms.

"Uh oh..." Moira looked up above at the ceiling where there was no doubt it was directly beneath the parent's bedrooms.

Gabriel and Amelie's eyes opened simultaneously at the sound of their crying daughter and quickly rushed downstairs to her aid.


	10. Chapter 10

"What happened?" Amelie looked down at both Moira and Sombra with a near murderous intent.

"Funny you should ask..." Sombra bit her lower lip, nervously looking up at Amelie.

"What's so funny?" Gabriel appeared from behind her, smoke emanating from his raging form.

"Alright, I'm sure we can explain all this without resolving to unnecessary -" She was cut off as Gabriel put his hand on her should softly. Well, it felt softly, only it was there was impatience and rage behind it.

"What happened?" Gabriel repeated for Amelie, making sure they knew he wasn't going to ask anymore. Sombra coughed.

"Well, you see...Victoria can...teleport..?" Sombra held the baby girl close to her chest, knowing she was what was keeping her alive and uninjured from her parents. Victoria clapped struggled in her aunts arms. "I promise you she can escape my hold if she wanted to." She laughed nervously.

Gabriel looked at Amelie in concern and she in turn did the same. Both their eyes traveled between the Mexican and the Irish, and ultimately down to their daughter.

"Really?" Amelie's anger dropped and went to pick up Victoria from Sombra's arms. "Is this true, mon ange?" She asked her child, who in turn tilted her head in confusion at the question.

"She was a few moments ago. Really good at it too." Moira stepped in, away from Gabriel's hot hand. "In fact, she evaded us fairly well, as you can see how we destroyed your kitchen." She gestured to the floor. Gabriel ignored the damages and walked over to Victoria and Amelie. He took her into his arms and cradled her gently, trying to get her to sleep.

"Vamos mija." Gabriel said, getting her to fall asleep. "Duermete." He sighed, she promptly yawned before falling asleep. "I was worried about this." He admitted to Amelie, who took a deep breath and rubbed her temples.

"I was hoping she didn't have anything." Amelie closed the distance between her and Gabriel, looking down at Victoria. "Maybe its all she has..?" Amelie looked up at Gabriel's eyes.

"She has some form of healing...she healed me." Gabriel reminded.

"We're going to have to teach her somehow." Amelie spoke softly.

"Maybe the shadow stepping, but definitely not the healing. I don't even do that...hell, I've never seen any medic do it like that." Gabriel admitted. "Whatever she does and has...I fear she'll have to figure it out on her own." He looked disappointed in himself.

"No." Amelie said with conviction. "She won't. She'll have us." She stroked Gabriel's cheek. "We may not know how to help her, but she'll be far from being on her own." She assured her love. Gabriel could only nod as he pressed is cheek into Amelie's lovely hand, losing himself in her tender touch.

"We'll..." Sombra coughed awkwardly. "go into town to get new plates and table...don't..." She found it difficult to speak.

"Mind us." Moira finished for her as she pulled her out the door and closed it behind them.

"Do you think we should lock them out?" Amelie asked jokingly, kissing Gabriel's chin.

"We should." He chuckled. "But they'll probably break in somehow." He laughed.

"You're right." She agreed.

"Come on." He took her by the hand. "Let's go put her in her crib." He motioned his head down towards Victoria.

"Yes, let's." Amelie nodded.


End file.
